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OGDEN: So, did you draw every frame of this movie yourself?

PLYMPTON: I did. I did all the drawings. It's about 30,000 drawings.

OGDEN: Is your hand sore?

PLYMPTON: No. It's actually very therapeutic. I feel very good after drawing for 12 hours. It's a nice relaxing, comfortable kind of recreation for me. It's fun. It's the most fun thing I can do.

OGDEN: Where do you find the motivation and inspiration to keep pushing forward as an independent?

PLYMPTON: That's a really good question. There are two motivating factors. One is boredom. I like doing interesting things and I want to always do stuff that's really a challenge and not get in a rut. And number two is fear; fear of being a failure, fear of not making money, fear of not putting out a good film. So I think those two factors are probably the strongest motivating factors.

Also, I just like to see people laugh when they see my film. To hear the laughter and the applause and all the enjoyment that the audience gets out of my films is a very strong urge for me. It's really a delight to hear that sort of reception to my films.

OGDEN: Are you ever tempted to get into the mainstream?

PLYMPTON: I'll be honest with you. If Pixar or Dreamworks offered me a directing job and it sounded like a good film, I would be very tempted to take it. One of the problems with being an independent filmmaker is that I don't have the finances to have a major release. I don't have millions of dollars to promote the film on TV and posters and get it into all the movie theatres around the world. That's something that I'm very jealous about. My films play a lot of countries, but they're very limited releases, 5 to 20 prints. Whereas a Pixar film, you're talking about thousands and thousands of prints. So that's something I wish I could do.

But on the other hand, I have total freedom. I can do whatever I want, I can hire whoever I want, I can finish the film when I want. I don't have a deadline for the Marketing Department that says I have to finish it by so-and-so. I can do it at my own pace and make sure it's the way I like it. That's a nice feeling.

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OGDEN: Where do you think animation is headed?

PLYMPTON: I think that the animation industry is diversifying. I think it's really trying different directions. You know, kids animation will always be popular of course, but now with Japanese anime coming in and some European animation there's a lot more adult animation. I think we'll see a lot of different techniques besides the digital technology. There's still a lot of 2D coming out, a lot of stop motion. There's a lot of puppet animation still with Tim Burton and Nick Park and people like that. So, I think it's going to be more diverse.

"One of the problems with being an independent filmmaker is that I don't have the finances to have a major release. I don't have millions of dollars to promote the film on TV and posters and get it into all the movie theatres around the world. That's something that I'm very jealous about. On the other hand, I have total freedom." --Bill Plympton

OGDEN: Well, I think that would be a good thing.

PLYMPTON: Yes, I do, too.

OGDEN: I missed seeing it, but I read online that you had a camera hooked up to your work area, and you were showing your daily work.

PLYMPTON: I still do! I'm working on another feature, and I have a camera over my drawing board, and you can watch me do all the drawings. I think it's a great tool for young animators or for people who like animation to see what really goes into making a film and how it's put together and how not all films are done by computer. There are still people out there drawing films by hand.

OGDEN: You say you're working on your next feature… you mind telling us what it is?

PLYMPTON: It's called Idiots and Angels. It's a much darker, kind of David Lynchian sort of film. It's very mysterious. There's a little bit of humor in there, a little bit of sex, little bit of violence. But it's not as over the top as some of my other films. It's a lot more restrained and mysterious. A bit more poetic.

OGDEN: When you're drawing these films basically online, are you afraid that you're going to give too much of the film away?

PLYMPTON: Oh, no. Uh huh. Oftentimes, I will release the book before the film just to get people excited about it. So, the film is all there in the book. The whole story. I don't think that's a big issue for me. Besides, no one's going to watch the whole year's worth of drawings online as I make the film. That's way too much time.

OGDEN: One last question for you. After all these years, is it still fun?

PLYMPTON: Oh, yeah, it's more fun than ever! As I get more well-known, I have a lot more opportunities to do what I want, a lot more freedom. People invite me to a lot of different countries and places. It's hard to turn down a lot of these invitations. That keeps it fun. It's always exciting.

OGDEN: Great way to see the world, huh?

PLYMPTON: Yeah, right, right.

OGDEN: I want to say thank you very much for talking to us.

PLYMPTON: My pleasure.